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DS9's Kira Nerys Speaks!

Plus: X-Files Feedback, This Week's Episodes

By Steve Ryfle
December 04, 2000

It's not every day that you get a chance to talk to one of your fave Star Trek cast members, but today's the day. Nana Visitor, a.k.a. Major Kira for the entire seven-year run of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, will be the guest of TV Guide Online tonight (5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time), in a chat session focusing on her latest project, a CD-ROM game from Simon & Schuster Interactive called Star Trek: Deep Space NineThe Fallen, wherein Kira is one of the characters that players can control.

Last summer, when the game was first announced, Visitor told the Stomped @ E3 Website (http://e3.stomped.com) that she likes the game and still wants to continue her association with the show in its afterlife. 'I am thoroughly impressed,' said Visitor. 'I think they [the game designers] got the atmosphere right. I love the way my character looks. I've played it a bit, and I never play computer games as a rule, but it is very engaging. I can't think of a more modern way for [DS9] to continue on than in computers, and actually in some countries in Europe [the TV show] is in its second year, so it lives on around the world. It really is an amazing phenomenon, but I feel like I have some stock in its future being in this game.'

Onscreen and off, Visitor has always been one of the coolest cast members in the history of the entire Star Trek franchise. She's never shied away from her association with the show, nor does she seem to take her role for granted. But it's clear that DS9 was never the most important thing in her life. Visitor's the proud mother of two sons, a 9-year-old and a 3-year-old (named Buster and Django, respectively!). As everyone knows, she's married to Alexander Siddig, who played Dr. Bashir on DS9.

There's another great interview with Visitor on her official Website (www.nanavision.com), that originally appeared in Star Trek Monthly, in which she talks about the grueling experience of working on a seven-year-long series that didn't always get a lot of respect from the sci-fi community or even the Trek fan base. 'I had no idea how hard it was when I was doing it,' says Visitor. 'There were so many things that motivated me forward that I didn't notice it was the hardest work I've ever done. Grueling in a sense: just the hours, and the amount of time required to be there, the amount of work. And, other than meeting people at conventions, you know, [there was] not much reward in those terms. We were always 'science fiction', you know, and the middle child of Star Trek. So it was an odd place to be.' She adds that the show was, 'The most important investment [of my career]. It wasn't necessarily the zenith of my working experience, you know, but it was the biggest investment. That's what I can say. [It was] the most life-changing for sure.'

What's Kira up to now? She's gone back to her roots as an actress and singer-dancer on the stage. For the past year, she's been in the touring company of the musical Chicago, playing the lead role of Roxie in Detroit, Las Vegas and Washington. Next year, she'll take over the role on Broadway, in New York! And if you're in New Haven, Conn., you can catch Nan now through Dec. 17 at the Long Wharf Theater in a play called 'Golden Boy,' a story set in 1937 and described as 'the story of Joe Bonaparte, a young boxer and violinist struggling to reconcile his two passions.' Nana's role is that of Lorna Moon, the manager's girlfriend, who falls for the 'golden boy' and tries to help Joe find his true passion. The part of Lorna is more singing than dancing, and promises to be a meaty, challenging role. It's bit different than DS9, to say the least, but for info on tickets you can call 800-782-8497.

READER MAILBAG: X-FILES FEEDBACK

Last week, I gave the new-and-unimproved X-Files a polite drubbing, noting that the post-David Duchovny incarnation of the show is pretty uninspired. A reader named Julie, a self-proclaimed eX-Phile, e-mailed Fandom with her own thought-provoking two cents on the matter. Just to prove we don't drag all your e-mails into the trash bin, I'm passing it on for the rest of you to swallow:

'I'm not sure if you were expecting comments, but I felt the need to share and you did include an e-mail address. Not a bad commentary, but I thought I would enlighten you as to why I think the ratings haven't drop [sic]...YET. The group of us who are adults and die-hard fans of the real show are sort of stuck on the highway. It's like looking at a bad accident; you just can't look away. The horror that the show has become is only just now becoming apparent to real fans. In the meantime by lowering the bar and making XF about gore and a macho hero saving a MUCH weakened Dana Scully, they have captured the idiotic group of adolescent boys. That lower denominator of fan intelligence is what keeps the show working.

'I do believe however that there is a huge drop off from fans watching Malcom and staying around for the XF or did I hear that wrong. I will be one who gives up this week. Last week's show was just too awful for me to give it even one more chance. Thank god David Duchovny got away in time. I have gone from anger at the spite involved in the removal of his name from the credits to happiness that he is separate from this fiasco that has become the XF. I have to think you can't get out on the net much if you think [Chris Carter] and Co. have a happy fan base; they just have a new one, one that takes no real effort to keep happy or impress. The fans that watched prior to this season are dropping like flies. If you get the chance, have a look at just one site: X-Philes for Mulder. Thanks you for you time.'

Thanks, Julie!

THIS WEEK'S EPISODES

Ho-ho-ho! It's rerunsville as the holiday season kicks into high gear. Here's hoping Santa brings us all some great DVD's or other goodies for putting up with all the recycled genre TV we'll have to endure this month. Once again, we've got the synopses direct from the official source, but we doubt you'll need 'em if you're a dedicated fan of any of these shows:

Roswell (WB, Monday @ 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, 8 p.m. Central) In 'Skin & Bones' (originally aired Oct. 2), 'The rift between Max and Michael grows as Max reluctantly accepts his new role as leader and orders everyone to lay low, angering Michael, who believes they should be actively seeking other alienswhether they are good or evil.'

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (WB, Tuesday @ 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, 7 p.m. Central) This is the 'Buffy vs. Dracula' episode, which was originally shown on Sept. 26. 'Dracula (Rudolf Martin) casts his dark shadow over Sunnydale and Buffy's relationship with Riley when the count interrupts her patrol and displays more power than the usual vampire. Buffy orders her cohorts to stay away from him until they can do more research, but Riley is annoyed when the slayer seems starstruck by the famous count and goes searching for information on his ownleaving Dracula free to ensnare Xander.'

Angel (WB, Tuesday @ 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, 8 p.m. Central) The repeat: 'Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?' The story: 'Angel (David Boreanaz) directs Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) and Wesley (Alexis Denisof) to investigate a mysteriously abandoned hotel in Hollywood and as they piece together the building's dark history, they discover that his interest is that of a personal nature. In a flashback to 1952, Angel is not the atoning vampire of present day, but a recluse who is detached from the tortured humans around him, until one fateful day.'

Charmed (WB, Thursday @ 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, 8 p.m. Central) A repeat of the season premiere, 'Honeymoon's Over,' with an appearance by Barenaked Ladies. 'Prue (Shannen Doherty) feels a little jumpy now that they know the Evil Triad was behind most of the attacks of the past two years, plus Piper (Holly Marie Combs) has left her and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) one power of three short since she disappeared with Leo (Brian Krause). After witnessing a murder, the two witches must lie on the stand in order to protect their identity, inadvertently setting a killer free and endangering the life of Assistant District Attorney Cole Turner (new cast member Julian McMahon). Meanwhile, when Piper and Leo finally do return, they are distraught over the sobering reality that they can no longer be together.

Sabrina, The Teenage Witch (WB, Friday @ 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, 7 p.m. Central) In 'House of Pi's,' 'When Sabrina (Melissa Joan Hart) and Roxie (Soleil Moon Frye) unexpectedly get teamed together to write a story in an effort to land a coveted spot on the school newspaper, the next Woodward and Bernstein search for a story that is provocative and compelling, but face a crisis of conscience when their sorority exposť may land Morgan (Elisa Donovan) and her sisters in a heap of trouble. Back at the coffeehouse, Hilda (Caroline Rhea) refuses to give Salem (voice of Nick Bakay) a spot in her Friday night showcase, so he turns on her by becoming a cutthroat talent agent handling performers from the Other Realm.' Followed by 'No Place Like Home,' a repeat featuring a cameo by Britney Spears.

The Simpsons (FOX, Sunday @ 6:30 p.m.) This one sounds good: 'The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie Show.' The scoop: 'Itchy and Scratchy creator Roger Myers picks Homer to be the voice of a new canine characterwho is roundly rejected by the public.'

Futurama (FOX, Sunday @ 7 p.m.) In this week's episode, 'I Second That Emotion,' Nibbler gets flushed down the toiled and Bender, Leela and Fry search through a sewer-world of mutants.